I visited Quinta de Santa Eufemia in the fall of 2016 when I was on a press trip to the Douro Valley. In the intervening period of time since my visit, I have had the occasion to meet the owners at various Portuguese tastings in New York City but nothing can compare to my wonderful visit.

The winery was one of the first that I visited during that particular trip. The object in the photo above is a marker that shows when the Marquis de Pombal delineated the area in 1756. It is one of the 335 Pombaline Markers (Granite Stone Markers bearing a number). The Douro Valley is the oldest demarcated region in the world.

In addition to this interesting marker, they preceded to show us their own private family chapel which the village used to use as well. All of this even before our tasting and the amazing lunch they provided. Not to mention the views from their property.

I found the chapel very touching. As a lover of art, it is always hard for me to believe what some of these older families have in their homes. The chapel was not large but you could tell it had been very elegant in its heyday. One of the owners said he had gotten married there, if I’m not mistaken.

I decided to break this post up into a couple of different segments because it would get to be way too long to read. In addition to having all of these historical items on their property, the family is also very modern and fun.

The brother and sister team that took us through the winery seemed very well integrated with one another. The sister was the wine maker which I thought was very interesting as well. In the Douro, surprisingly, I found many female winemakers which I hadn’t expected.

Going through my notes yesterday, I saw that I had taken some 200 photos on their property. This will be the first post in what will probably be a four-part posting in order to discuss the Quinta adequately.

I just love these pictures of this old-fashioned roof. So much to discuss about this winery. To be continued.